Politics & Government

April 9 Renton City Council Meeting Wrap-Up

Council to hear Library Steering Committee recommendation, discuss placing the library location on Aug. 2012 ballot at April 16 Committee of the Whole meeting.

During its April 9 meeting, Renton Mayor Denis Law declared April as Sexual Assault Awareness month, and presented Alan Waite, Courtwatch Services Coordinator and Education Specialist for King County Sexual Assault Resources Center, with the proclamation.

“(Sexual assault) is a crime that violates the core of our society,” Waite said.

The King County Sexual Assault Resources Center (KCSARC) has come a long way during its 38 years in Renton, evolving from a rape crisis hotline to include all the programs it offers today, including programs for youth affected by sexual assault and two ground-breaking programs launched in 2010: the Cyber Safety Project and CourtWatch program.

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This month, KCSARC will host two evenings of discussion, on April 10 and 18 and its office in Renton.

Mayor Law also declared April as Records and Information month and presented the proclamation to City Records Clerk Bonnie Walton.

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City Administrator Jay Covington’s administrative report included an announcement of an upcoming public forum, “Discuss Creating a Disaster Resilient Community,” on April 26 from 6:30 to 9 p.m. at Renton City Hall, 7th Floor Council Chambers. Pre-registration is required by April 18.

Covington also announced preliminary discussions with the King County Library System regarding the location of the downtown Renton Library and the possibility of placing the decision on an Aug. 2012 special elections ballot.

The City does not have a lot of time to draft the resolution, which must be adopted by April 25, he said.

City Council president Rich Zwicker said over the last week he’s been busy considering the Council’s options regarding the downtown Library location and thanked the Mayor and Covington for their guidance, the City Attorneys for their review of the issues, KCLS staff “for keeping an open mind,” and the public for an “invigoration Monday meeting.”

“While passions were high I think the crowd was respectful and made their point,” he said. “We will not revisit the petition, but discuss honoring the spirit of the petition,” he said of the possibility of an Aug. special election.

Today’s discussion is just to gauge council interest in the possibility of bringing the library location to a vote of the people, he said.

If Council misses the April 25 deadline it is not all over, he said. “There will be other elections.”

However, if we are unable to meet those deadlines, we’ll have to go back to KCLS with negotiations, he said.

Public comment followed the Administrative Report, and included three Renton citizens.

Stuart Avery, a volunteer with the Citizens for the preservation of the Cedar River Library, thanked Council for relaxing the rules to allow last week’s lengthy public comment session prior to the regular meeting, and its willingness to consider the issue.

He made two requests: Allow Renton residents to participate in some level, preferably every level in how the measure be worded; and that the information be made available in some form so that the people have the opportunity to review all the information including pros and cons.

Avery also reminded the Council of the 20-day deadline for a decision regarding the Citizens for the preservation of the Cedar River Library’s petition, and inquired about the funding and permitting for the “Support the new library” signs around town.

Mayor Law responded that the signs are not produced or funded by the City. He also noted that the City is prohibited by law from becoming involved in or lobbying for political issues such as the library location.

Petition supporter Beth Asher also thanked Council for “reconsidering” the issue, but asked that the signs be removed.

“Will you do something about the signs, or can we do something of our own?” she said.

Councilmember Randy Corman said the sign issue is a tricky one. According to Corman, the United States Supreme Court has ruled that political signs may be posted on the public right-or-way as long as they don’t block or affect traffic.

“It is a little political,” he said, adding that the signs could fall under a type of “campaign.”

Phyllis Forister, also a supporter of the Cedar River Library location, suggested a sign or banner at the former Big 5 site that would alert passers-by that the location is the proposed location for the new library.

Covington said the posting of such a banner by the City would not be allowed.

“I think mayor, that this is exactly why the City is not in the campaign business,” he said.

Following public comment Council approved the Consent Agenda, discussed Unfinished Business, approved a Resolution to waive admissions tax for the Seattle International Film Festival, and unanimously approved the second reading of an Ordinance for the 2012 Carry-Forward Budget Amendment (first read on April 2).

New Business included a reminder of an upcoming presentation by the Library Steering Committee regarding its recommendation for future uses of the Cedar River/Liberty Park library building at the Committee of the Whole meeting at Renton City Hall on April 16 at 5:30 p.m.

Council will also discuss the placement of the library location on the ballot at the April 16 Committee of the Whole meeting.

Zwicker said he has “no interest in a motion to reconsider” the petition submitted by the Citizens for the preservation of the Cedar River Library. Instead, he asked the administration to present the issues regarding the possibility of a ballot issue proposal and to schedule a public meeting regarding the issue during the next the next Council meeting on April 16.

Councilmember Greg Taylor asked Council for “transparency” and said he wants to ensure the community understands the choices before them, and what their options are this time around so there is no more confusion.

“I just want to make sure the public is aware of the options that we are entertaining,” he said.

In an effort to beter understand the process, Taylor called the King County Election office, but “didn’t get all the answers I wanted.”

Councilmember Ed Prince, who was criticized for not contributing to last week’s discussion, weighed in on the issue this week and asked Covington about the potential cost of a special election.

The cost, Covington said, depends on the issues, number of other measures on the ballot and number of registered among other factors, but would likely be “around $90,000 plus or minus.”

More public comment followed prior to the end of the meeting, including seven individuals, most of which spoke about KCLS and the library location issue.

 


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